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Е. В. Захарова язык и культура великобритании в условиях европейской интеграции предисловие данное учебное пособие

Вид материалаУчебное пособие
Unit vii. the importance of not speaking english
Ii.vocabulary focus
Iii. interpretation
Iv.speaking personally
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UNIT VII. THE IMPORTANCE OF NOT SPEAKING ENGLISH




I. READING COMPREHENSION


A. Pre-reading Task. Answer the following questions:


1) Do you happen to know what group of languages Welsh and other Celtic languages of Scotland and Northern Ireland belong to?

2) Do you know any extinct Celtic languages?


B. Now read and translate the text. You can make use of the words and word-combinations given below:

Gael – r(a)эл, шотландский или ирландский кельт

Famine – голод

Decimate – опустошать, уничтожать

Poverty – нищета

Influential – влиятельный

Fraction – частица, крупица

Amount – общая сумма, весь объем

Acknowledgement – признание

Flourish – процветать

Assert – утвердить

Prohibit – запрещать

Medium – средство

Stigmatize – клеймить позором, поносить

Impetus – стимул, побуждение

Conversion – превращение

abandon – отказаться от ч-л

master the language – овладеть языком

output – выпуск


Gaelic is the language of the Gaels, Celtic invaders from Europe who came to the British Isles in the second and third centuries before the beginning of the Christian era. Gaelic rapidly became the principal language of Ireland, and later it was also widely spoken on the west coast of Scotland where many Irish Gaels emigrated in later years. The census of 1991 showed that out of the Scottish population of 4.9 million, 1.4 per cent - about seventy thousand people – spoke Gaelic in some form. Gaelic remained the first language of Ireland until the middle of the nineteenth century, when the Great Famine (1845-8) decimated the population. Death, mass emigration and the association of Gaelic with poverty and backwardness combined to marginalize the language, so that, by the time the southern part of Ireland gained partial independence from Britain in 1922, Gaelic was spoken only in small pockets (called Gaeltachts) in the north and the west of the island.

This marginalization did not go unopposed, however. During the 1890s a cultural movement known as the Celtic Revival became very influential throughout the British Isles, and this movement was closely linked with the idea of political independence for Ireland. An important part of its programme was the restoration of Gaelic as the first language of Ireland. This was felt to be necessary because the language was seen as the crucial element of a distinctive identity, and therefore it was not possible for Irish people to achieve real freedom if they continued to speak English.

In 1922, the Northern Ireland Office spent 1.2 million pounds promoting Gaelic projects, and although this is only a fraction of the amount spent on Scottish Gaelic and Welsh, it has been welcomed as official acknowledgement of the importance of Gaelic for the cultural health of the community. The city of Belfast has bilingual schools, a Gaelic newspaper (called La, meaning ‘Day’, which began publication in 1981) and a very small number of Gaelic radio and television programmes broadcast by the BBC and independent stations. While use of the language is now declining in the south, voluntary Irish classes flourish throughout Northern Ireland. All this activity is encouraging for Gaelic supporters, although whether the language can truly escape its sectarian heritage and help resolve the political divide in Northern Ireland remains a hotly debated question.

Welsh is the most successful non-English language of the British Isles. Since the nineteenth century Wales has had great difficulty in asserting its cultural independence from England. Before the Education Act of 1870, which prohibited teachers from using Welsh as a medium of education, about nine out of ten people spoke the language. As with all the minority languages mentioned so far however, Welsh became stigmatized as the language of the poor and the backward, it was only in rural areas such as the counties of Gwynedd and Dyfed in the north and west that Welsh managed to survive.

Since the 1960s, however, a new attitude towards the language has become evident. The rise of Welsh political nationalism has encouraged a pride in the Welsh language and in recent years the ability to speak Welsh has become a highly prestigious attribute. This pride has manifested itself in many ways, but the basic impetus is towards the conversion of Wales into a fully bilingual country.

Many people began in the 1960s by abandoning anglicized names in favour of Welsh ones, while for those who had not yet mastered the language, it was possible to assert a Welsh identity by using the heavily inflected Welsh accent. Once over the border, all road signs are now given first in Welsh and then in English, as are most job descriptions, and the language has had great success at all levels of education. Welsh programmes represent well over 50 per cent of the country’s radio and television output, and the success of the annual Eisteddfod festival adds to the sense of an autonomous nation supporting a distinctive national culture.


C. Now referring back to the text, answer the following questions:


1) When did the Gaels come to the British Isles?

2) What did the census of 1991 show?

3) What happened in Ireland in 1845-1848?

4) What was Gaelic associated with?

5) Was there any opposition to the marginalization of the Gaelic language?

6) What organization spent 1,2 million pounds promoting Gaelic projects and why was it so important?

7) When was the Education Act adopted in Wales?

8) Since what time has a new attitude towards the Welsh language become evident?

9) What has become a highly prestigious aspect concerning the Welsh language in recent years?

10) What is the amount of Welsh programmes on Wales’ radio and television?


II.VOCABULARY FOCUS


A. Translate the following words and word-combinations into Russian:


Celtic invaders; to decimate the population; to marginalize the language; to assert cultural independence; distinctive identity; a medium of education; the political divide; basic impetus; to encourage a pride; job descriptions.


Reproduce the situation in the text in which they are given.


B. Find the English equivalents in the text:


До нашей эры; массовая эмиграция; нищета и отсталость; добиться частичной независимости; возрождение; быть тесно связанным; достичь подлинной свободы; официальное признание; дорожные знаки; на всех уровнях образования.

Think of your own sentences with them.


C. Match the words which collocate with each other:

1. inflected a. nationalism

2. crucial b. output

3. official c. accent

4. radio d. element

5. political e. acknowledgement

D. Match the words which are close in their meaning:

1. abandon a. ban

2. prohibit b. need

3. stigmatize c. authoritative

4. poverty d. discard

5. influential e. brand


E. Match the words having the opposing meaning:

1. poverty a. allow

2. stigmatize b. powerless

3. prohibit c. retain

4. influential d. affluence

5. abandon e. glorify


F. Match the words and their definitions:

1) to spoil or destroy smth, for example by getting rid of a lot of people
a. acknowledgment

2) able to affect the way smb thinks or behaves or affect the way smth happens
b. to stigmatize

3) smth that you say or do in order to show that you accept that smth exists or is true
c. influential

4) to officially stop smth from being done, especially by making it illegal
d. to decimate

5) to treat a particular type of behaviour as wrong or embarrassing and to try to make people who behave in this way feel ashamed
e. to prohibit

G. Translate the following sentences into Russian:


1) The department has been decimated by years of budget cuts.

2) He is one of the most influential figures in the government.

3) There is now almost universal acknowledgment that the programme has failed.

4) Smoking is prohibited in all areas of the building.

5) Children shouldn’t be stigmatized because their parents aren’t married.


H. Insert prepositions where necessary (towards; in; from; on; with):

1. to gain independence __ smb/smth

2. to be linked __ smth

3. to spend smth __ smth

4. to have difficulty __ doing smth

5. to prohibit smb __ doing smth

6. to mention __ smth

7. an attitude __ smth/smb

8. a pride __ smth


I. Complete the sentences using the words in the box:

inflected bilingual mastered

output identity abandoning

prestigious asserting

independence assert


1) The city of Belfast has __ schools.

2) Since the nineteenth century Wales has had great difficulty in __ its cultural __ from England.

3) In recent years the ability to speak Welsh has become a highly __ attribute.

4) Welsh programmes represent well over 50 per cent of the country’s radio and television __.

5) Many people began in the 1960s by __ anglicized names in favour of Welsh ones, while for those who had not yet __ the language, it was possible to __ a Welsh __ by using the heavily __ Welsh accent.


J. In what meanings are the following words used in the text:


1) to abandon

a. to leave someone when you should stay with them and look after them

b. to leave something in a place, especially because you are in a hurry or are trying to escape.

c. to stop believing or supporting an idea.


2) to flourish

a. to grow well and be healthy

b. to be very successful

c. to wave smth in the air so that people notice


K. Make up phrases and translate them into Russian. Think of your own sentences with them.

Belief

Claim

Commitment

To abandon concept

An idea

Policy

Principle


III. INTERPRETATION


A. Paraphrase the following statements and comment on them:


1) Death, mass emigration and the association of Gaelic with poverty and backwardness combined to marginalize the language.

2) This marginalization did not go unopposed, however.

3) …whether the language can truly escape its sectarian heritage and help resolve the political divide in Northern Ireland remains a hotly debated question.

4) This pride has manifested itself in many ways, but the basic impetus is towards the conversion of Wales into a fully bilingual country.


B. Answer the following questions:


1) How do you think it happens that some languages become associated with backwardness of the population?

2) Do you think the cultural movement known as the Celtic Revival was successful? What changes did it bring about?

3) How are the ideas of real freedom and the national language connected?

4) Why is Welsh considered the most successful non-English language of the British Isles?

5) What is needed to convert Wales into a fully bilingual country?


IV.SPEAKING PERSONALLY


Do you agree with the idea expressed in the following statement: ‘The language was seen as the crucial element of a distinctive identity, and therefore it was not possible for Irish people to achieve real freedom it they continued to speak English’?

Discuss the problem with your partners.